Review by: ZoidbergOnTheRocks
I really dig Clynelish despite being a certified peat head, and I don’t have nearly enough of it. I usually end up running across excellent IB’s at tastings and every time I say I’m gonna get one, and every time I forget. I’ve got these two samples of Signatory Vintage bottlings, a 10yr and a 20yr, so I figured it would be nice to taste them together.
Tasted on 4/30/2021, neat in a Glencairn.
Stock image retrieved from K&L Wines 2021/04/30.
Clynelish 19 Year (1996) Signatory Vintage
I don’t have much info on this bottle; I failed to get the relevant info when I got the sample quite some time ago. But hey, a SV Clynelish is usually a good bet!
Distillery: Clynelish
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Highlands
ABV: 46.0%, cask strength
Age: 19 years old. Distilled on 06/27/1996. Bottled on 03/09/2016.
Cask type: Hogsheads
Natural color. Non-chill-filtered. From a single cask.
Nose: fresh tropical fruits. Honey. Warm candle wax. Ginger and wood spice. A bit floral. Caramel. Mineral, chalky. A bit of sea spray.
Taste: quite spicy w/ pepper and ginger. Tropical fruits. Sweet honey. Some nice wax here. Oily thick mouthfeel. Toffee. A bit salty. Floral.
Finish: spice over those tropical fruits and honey. Wax around the edges. Somewhat salty. Medium length finish mostly on mild spice and waxed fruit. Woody bitterness off the end.
Summary: A pretty simple dram with some nice tropical fruits, wax, and spice. A light floral touch, and it’s even a bit mineral with some mild, clean sea notes in there. It’s quite nice, and I really dig the nose and palate. The finish starts well, but then ends off w/ an oddly bitter note which brings it down for me. After a bit I want to drink something else to clean it up. I added a few drops of water later and while it liberated more spice on the nose, it’s basically the same.
Would I buy a bottle? no. It’s alright, but there are better Clynelish.
Final Score: 82.
Clynelish 10 Year (2008) Signatory Vintage K&L Exclusive
Distillery: Clynelish
Bottler: Signatory Vintage (SV)
Region: Scotland, Highlands
ABV: 57.9%, cask strength
Age: 10 years old. Distilled on 06/06/2008. Bottled on 07/17/2018.
Cask type: Bourbon Barrel
Natural color. One of 224 bottles, from a single cask #800140.
Nose: bright fruit, tropical, apples, banana. Honey, sweet. Light wax. Ginger. Floral. Vanilla. A touch hot. With Water: more subtle but otherwise similar. Less heat.
Taste: spicy w/ ginger and white pepper. Tropical fruits, tart apples. Sweet. Waxy. A bit hot. A little salty. Nice oily mouthfeel. With Water: ah, very nice. Warm ginger spice. The fruits come through more, with some nice caramel. More floral.
Finish: a nice pop of tropical fruits and wax, with the spice right on it’s heels. Honey and caramel. Medium finish on that fruit and spice. With Water: still fruit forward, but better balanced all around. More floral notes now.
Summary: This is also a very simple dram. Nice, bright tropical fruits w/ honey, wax, and some warm gingery spice. It’s a bit hot neat all around, but still quite drinkable. With water you get more floral notes and better balance. There’s some of that classic Clynelish wax in this, but it’s well integrated and not overpowering at all. The floral notes around the edges are quite nice. There’s a slight tartness to this on the palate which is interesting. Overall, very good.
Would I buy a bottle? sure, if it was fairly cheap. It’s very drinkable, and a nice change of pace.
Final Score: 83.
Comparison
Order: 10yr > 20yr
The 10yr is an easy pick for me in this duo. The bright fruit and warm spice are really nice. The 20yr is really simple and has that bitter end to the finish which is just a shame. I will say that the 10yr is much more subtle and clean on the nose than the 20yr, making tasting these side-by-side challenging. Some time was necessary with the 10yr coming back to it each time.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 